Page 7 of As the World Falls

I wasn’t sure, but as I crawled into bed for the night, I set my alarm for early morning.

I was going to New York City tomorrow.

Chapter Three

James

The flashes of cameras blind my vision, and I can physically feel my face harden like ice, unable to smile or present any warmth. Crystals are like ice. Hard and Transparent yet radiant. Cold. I found comfort in being like the thing I appreciated most in the world, but I knew others didn’t. It was my one flaw, but it was why I now liked having Tobias at these kinds of things with me. He may look like a Brute, but he knows how to smile when the circumstances call for it, and he has what I’m sure others would assume is a charismatic, approachable smile.

We were opening another storefront in Buffalo, New York. We have storefronts across the country, with New York City being the most successful, so it only made sense we put one in the second most populated city in New York. We were constantly growing by the second, not just our storefront but our business behind closed doors as well.

We may or may not have a significant hand in crystal trading in the illegal market. The more I make it out here, the bigger I make it in there.

I pause for a moment longer for pictures of our grand opening before nodding to Tobias, who has already agreed to take over supervising the rest of the event. This was precisely the kind of thing I hired him to do. I was CEO, and I didn’t have time, nor did I have the desire to stand around a store all day while men tried to flash their money around, and their wives flashed even more around if it meant I’d talk to them. It was no secret I was rumored to be the king of the rich. It was a play off my name and the fact that I was one of the wealthiest men in the country, and it’s all built on the backs of crystals. What could be richer than that?

I leave the event and head to Labyrinth headquarters, ignoring reporters trying to gain my attention as I get into my car. I had enough social interaction throughout the morning at the opening and felt utterly drained for the day.

When I’m there, I close myself in my office, ripping my tie off my neck again. I don’t know why I bother wearing the god-forsaken things in the first place. I could do hardly any work in them, choking me constantly.

I go to the bar to the side of my desk, pour myself a glass of whiskey, and toss it all back, letting the burn calm the anxiety that felt like pins and needles dotting over my skin. I had a touch of social anxiety, I’ll admit. I preferred to be locked away like a king in his castle, overlooking everything and delegating from the inside, but life doesn’t always let me get what I want. Appearances must sometimes be made, and it’s a sacrifice that constantly exhausts me.

I turn my computer on and open the internet browser, then open the map platform and put London, England, into the desired location to travel. When all the routes and transportation options appear, I stare at them all like I’ve done a thousand times before, memorizing each and every course.

Calmness washed over me as I clicked across the map, my eyes tracking each curvature toward my home country—the one I was ripped from.

A buzzing noise rips me from my task, and I sigh, that irritated feeling filling my chest again like a never-ending pressure.

“What is it?” I ask, answering the intercom.

My secretary's voice filters through. “Sir, there’s a problem down at security.”

“Then why isn’t security handling it?”

“It’s a visitor for Tobias Bowen. She says she’s his sister and demands to see him. She says it’s an emergency. Her I.D. checks out, sir, but she won’t leave even after we’ve told her he’s not here.”

Tobias has a sister? My curiosity is momentarily piqued, and it distracts me from the anxiety swimming in my veins.

“I’ll be right down,” I say.

I rip off the jacket of my suit, feeling hot now. This day was nonstop, it seemed, and I was getting hot in my frustration. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a new determination. I welcomed it like a balm over my usual responsibilities. I was curious about this woman who claimed to be Tobias’s sister, and I was even more curious why Tobias had never mentioned her. I’ve spent nearly every day with him for the last five years. I helped build him up and saw him through all of his struggles and withdrawals from a wrong time in his life. We’ve shared many late nights that have resulted in many conversations. I thought he was alone, much like I was. No parents or siblings. It was why I felt drawn to him more than others, but I was apparently mistaken.

I take the elevator down to the lobby, and as soon as I step off, I immediately hear the noise of a woman’s raised voice. I became irritated because this was a place of business. There wasno reason for her to be shouting so immaturely. It bugged me when people acted so unreservedly.

I walked closer to them, my eyes tracking her animated hand movements. My security kept their hands placed at her chest level, never actually touching but keeping her at a safe distance from entering further into the building. I walked around the guards, and for a moment, when I was ready to interrupt her rambling, I was struck speechless.

Her hair was like a lioness of dark black curls, thick on her head and reaching nearly down to her hips. It was shining like black velvet, but it wasn’t just that. It was her eyes that were blue aquamarines, vast and crazy, staring down the men in front of her. Their color was just as startling as the depth of emotion I could plainly see in them. It was unsettling.

I took in her clothes, which were a bit of a headscratcher. Where she looked ethereal with her silky curls and angelic eyes over her pale luminous skin, her clothes were more…that of what a toddler would wear.

Her jeans were baggy and distressed. She was wearing a dark, ugly green short cardigan. Underneath it was a dark red satin tank top. Her white chunky sneakers were worn and not as white as I’m sure they once were, but they were nothing to write home about.

“Does he have an office? I would assume someone of his caliber would have one. I could wait for him in there,” I hear her suggest. I snap out of whatever trance I am in and finally step forward, my gaze zeroing in on her.

“Is there a problem?”

Her gaze snaps to mine, and one of her eyebrows lifts as if unimpressed by my presence. “Yes, there is, actually. I’m here to see my brother.”

“Tobias Bowen, correct?”

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